Remember Randy Johnson In 2004?

The MVP has traditionally been awarded almost exclusively to players on winning teams; this methodology has led to some great seasons getting overlooked at times.

Here are five examples of great seasons that took place within the context of absolutely terrible teams, including one 2010 candidate.

Cal Ripken
1991 Baltimore Orioles (67-95)
11.1 WAR
This is arguably the best season by a shortstop ever. Ripken hit .323/.374/.566 while playing some terrific defense at the game’s hardest position. His .407 wOBA was third-best in baseball behind lumbering sluggers Frank Thomas and Danny Tartabull, but Ripken ran circles around those two in defensive value.

Johnson made up an astounding 89 percent of his team’s total WAR. It’s one of the great wasted seasons in the history of the game.
And yet, even with a historical season from their star player, the Orioles were still awful, finishing ahead of only the Cleveland Indians in the American League.

While Ripken had to carry the offense by himself, he couldn’t do anything to help the pitching, which was among the worst in the league. Sam Horn and Randy Milligan were not enough to help Ripken score the runs needed to overcome problems at getting opponents out, and so Baltimore had to endure a miserable season in the year that their franchise icon had the best year of his career.

Randy Johnson
2004 Arizona Diamondbacks (51-111)
9.9 WAR
Part of a legendary run of some of the great pitching seasons ever, Johnson’s 2004 season stands out as an oasis in the driest desert you could imagine. He was a dominant workhorse, throwing 245 innings with a league-best 2.30 FIP. He struck out 290 batters, avoiding giving too much responsibility to one of the league’s worst defensive teams. He pitched deep into games because the bullpen behind him was atrocious. And yet, he “only” won 16 games (against 14 losses) because Arizona had the worst offense in baseball.

How much did Johnson carry that team? Everyone else on the roster combined for a total of 1.2 WAR. Johnson made up an astounding 89 percent of his team’s total WAR. It’s one of the great wasted seasons in the history of the game.

Barry Bonds
1995 San Francisco Giants (67-77)
7.7 WAR
Bonds had some better years when he was older, yes, but in a strike-shortened 144 game season, he hit .294/.431/.577. This was back when he was still a young, spry athlete, so he hit 33 homers, stole 33 bases and played a really good defensive left field.

Even with the game’s best all-around player in the lineup every day, the Giants still managed to finish in last place in the NL West. They just didn’t have enough talent around Bonds, especially on the mound, where the immortal William Van Landingham was the team’s best pitcher.

Ryan Zimmerman
2010 Washington Nationals (61-84)
7.0 WAR
By WAR, Zimmerman has been the best player in the National League this year, combining terrific offensive numbers (.304/.389/.512) with Gold Glove defense (plus-15.9 UZR) at third base. His teammates have not lived up to their end of the bargain, though, and the result is another losing season for the Nationals. Don’t blame Zimmerman, though — he’s accounted for 23 percent of his team’s WAR.

Carlos Pena
2007 Tampa Bay Rays (66-96)
6.2 WAR
The Rays struck gold with Pena in 2007, picking him up for nothing over the winter and then watching him blossom into one of the game’s premier power-hitting first basemen. He hit .282, launched 46 home runs and drew 102 walks. His .430 wOBA was the fifth-best in baseball that year, and he was no slouch at first base either. However, he was surrounded by the remains of the old Devil Rays era and the team was not able to capitalize on his breakout season. Tampa Bay finished with the worst record in baseball, but Pena’s performance helped the Rays avoid the shame of a 100-loss season — and then he helped propel them to the World Series in 2008.

You’ll note that Steve Carlton’s 1972 season is not mentioned, and that’s because we have WAR data for pitchers going only to 1980. However, it’s likely his 27 wins on a 59-win team would have put him on this list.